Monday, December 21, 2009

Walk into any supermarket in America, and you’ll find a large part of the seafood section stocked with imported frozen fish. Chances are that few – if any – of those imported fish were ever inspected by the U.S. government to ensure they met health and safety standards. Last year 5.2 billion pounds of seafood were imported into the United States. One of the best keptsecrets in Washington is that only 2 percent of that imported seafood was actually inspected.

Congress approved a law on June 18, 2008 that would have helped fix the problem by ultimately subjecting all imported catfish and related species to the same tough standards and protections as beef and poultry. One year and five months later, American consumers are still waiting for that protection. While we’re waiting, thousands of pounds of contaminated, imported catfish and related fish are slipping through the Food and Drug Administration’s weak safety net. Just last month, the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries examined catfish and related fish imported from five Asian countries and discovered that one out of every three of those imported fish tested positive for harmful Fluoroquinolones drugs that are banned for use in fish in the United States because of health and safety dangers to consumers. Those imported fish from China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand would have landed on Alabama dinner plates if state authorities had not intervened. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for inspecting all imported seafood. But, fully 98 percent of all foreign seafood imported into the United States makes it to the grocery shelves and restaurant tables with no FDA inspections, according to the Government Accountability Office. Concerns over the FDA’s low inspection rates prompted the U.S. Congress last year to approve a provision in 2008 Farm Bill shifting regulation of catfish from the FDA to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) which inspects and oversees the quality of all beef, poultry and pork sold in America. The USDA has stronger legal authority, more thorough inspections systems and tougher health and safety requirements over the food it oversees. “The legislative language in the 2008 Farm Bill leaves no ambiguity in its intent that all catfish, domestic and imported, meet the highest USDA standards – at least equal to the guarantees already accorded to beef and poultry,” Sens. Blanche L. Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) wrote in a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in October. “Like you, we feel strongly about ensuring the health and safety of American consumers.”

The implementation of that law shifting catfish regulation to the USDA has been stuck in the Washington federal bureaucracy for the past 18 months. The USDA has debated whether to inspect all catfish and catfish-like products or just catfish from certain countries. The government bean counters – the Office of Management and Budget – is now debating how much it will cost to inspect all, or just some of the imported catfish and catfish products. While all this has been going on in Washington, Alabama isn’t the only government that has stopped the sale of contaminated imports. Countries in Europe and the Middle East have bannedVietnamese catfish-like products because of health and safety concerns that they are raised in the Mekong River, which is polluted with raw sewage and toxic chemicals.Even the Vietnamese government has sounded alarm bells over the conditions of its fast-growing catfish farming industry. In just the last few weeks, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development admitted difficulties in monitoring and managing the quality of feed, water environment and fish products and called for better systems to detect disease outbreaks.

The Catfish Farmers of America is urging the Washington bureaucracy to cut through the red tape and impose rigorous USDA inspections and regulations on all catfish – domestic and imported. U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is already rated one of the safest, nutritious and environmentally-friendly fish in the world by organizations such as the Audubon Society, Environmental Defense Fund and Food and Water Watch.Americans are trying to eat healthier and are more safety-conscious than ever before about what they feed their families. We encourage our federal government to ensure that American consumersare getting the healthiest and safest catfish possible when they go to their grocery shelves or sit down to dinner at a restaurant.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Competition from overseas has held fish prices in check during the last decade, while production costs have increased steadily with inflation and rising costs of feed.As a result, catfish pond acreage in the U.S. has declined by more than a third in the last decade.Those that remain are fighting back against imports by waging a campaign to establish U.S. catfish as a superior product.Farmers have backed federal and state labeling laws requiring restaurants and grocery stores to label their catfish by country of origin, a move they hope will help jumpstart domestic production."We're like a frog in the bottom of a barrel right now," said Steve Stephens, president of the Louisiana Catfish Farmers Association. "We're looking for anything right now that can help us."Catfish is the leading aquaculture industry in the United States, with about 500 million pounds processed domestically in 2008.About 95 percent of the nation's catfish comes from Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana.Soaring feed prices and an influx of cheap imports have cut into catfish production in recent years.Production peaked at 660 million pounds in 2003, but has been decreasing ever since, according to Catfish Farmers of America.Catfish production has dropped off at an even faster rate in Louisiana, from 65.7 million pounds of catfish in 1999 to 19.9 million pounds in 2008.Louisiana currently has about 4,400 acres of catfish ponds, down about 10,000 acres since 1999."We've lost a lot of producers in the last five years," said Stephens. "With the economics like they are, the biggest factor is low prices."For Stephens, the downturn started three years ago, when rising prices for soybeans, corn, and wheat caused feed prices to skyrocket.Catfish prices, meanwhile, have lagged around 70 cents a pound for the past decade, with imports from countries like Vietnam and China keeping prices low.Stephens said his own North Louisiana farm has faced "huge losses" over the past two years, forcing him to scale back his farming operation by 50 percent."Just about everybody I know in this business is cutting back," he said.The situation isn't much better for wild-caught catfish, the production of which has also dropped substantially this decade.Henderson Mayor Sherbin Collette has been fishing commercially in the Atchafalaya Basin for most of his life, and has never seen market conditions as tough as they are now."Imports hurt everything — shrimp, crawfish, catfish, you name it," Collette said. "It's crippled us to a point where we're barely surviving."Collette faces additional challenges as a commercial fisherman — including competition from catfish farms.Wild-caught fish sell for a lower price — about 45-50 cents a pound — and are often passed over by wholesalers in favor of pond-raised fish, Collette said."There's no market for wild fish," he said.Collette sells most of his catch to local seafood restaurants and individual customers out of a shop near his home. But it's getting tough to make a living, he said."I hope I never have to stop, because this is my first love," he said.Some relief may come in the form of new laws passed during this year's Legislative session.The Louisiana Catfish Marketing Law, sponsored by state Rep. Noble Ellington, D-Winnsboro, requires restaurants and retailers to label any catfish they sell with the country of origin.Castille said agriculture officials are currently developing a certification program to implement the law, and should begin performing inspections early next year.State Rep. Fred Mills, D-St. Martinville, authored a separate bill that seeks to launch a "public safety marketing campaign" to warn consumers of possible health hazards of eating Chinese seafood and touting the benefits of state-grown and caught seafood.Also created was a Seafood Safety Task Force to further study Chinese seafood and report back to the Legislature.Catfish farmers have long complained that substandard aquaculture is practiced in Asian countries.Vietnam has built a burgeoning industry raising catfish in ponds and cages along the Mekong River."Most of these fish are raised in pens in polluted areas," Stephens said. "They can bring that filet, even after shipping, for half of what we're trying to do it at a loss right now."The industry is also trying to address imports by adding catfish to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety program. The USDA currently regulates all meat products, but does not inspect seafood. The inspection of seafood is now administered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

But seriously, fellow patriots, the Catfish Farmers of America warn that billions of imported foreign catfish are coming into this country and only 2 percent are inspected for, say, Mad Catfish Disease.

STAR BREAK

And when the Indians helped the pilgrims prepare Thanksgiving dinner, the catfish did not come from Vietnam.

Friday, November 20, 2009

The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries halt on the sale of imported Asian catfish and related fish contaminated by banned drugs underscores the urgency of implementing a congressionally-approved law for tough USDA inspections and regulations of imported catfish and catfish-like products, according to the Catfish Farmers of America.

The contaminated catfish products tested positive for antibiotic fluoroquinolones banned for use in fish or other seafood products sold in the United States because of the health and safety danger to consumers.

Alabama’s findings come as USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack is weighing a decision on how to implement a law approved by Congress last year shifting responsibility for the inspection and regulation of imported and domestic catfish and related fish from the FDA to the USDA. That law requires that catfish and catfish-like products meet the same stringent USDA health and safety standards as beef, poultry and pork.

“The contamination found in the Asian fish tested by Alabama authorities demonstrates the urgency of this health and safety issue,” said Joey Lowery, president of the Catfish Farmers of America. “We need Sec. Vilsack to enact this law now in the most comprehensive manner possible. It will help ensure that all imported catfish and catfish relatives meet the toughest regulations and inspections that will protect American consumers and make certain that imported fish meet the same standards for quality and safety as our U.S. farm-raised catfish.”

Last year, the FDA inspected only 2 percent of the 5.2 billion pounds of seafood imported into the United States, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Congress, responding to evidence of problems with the quality of imported catfish and related fish, voted as part of the 2008 farm bill to move inspections and regulation of those fish to the USDA.

Vilsack, who has made food safety one of his top priorities, is now considering whether to require that all domestic and imported catfish and related fish — including basa, pangasius and swai from Southeast Asia — meet USDA standards, or only domestic and Chinese catfish.

Chinese catfish represented only 29.7 percent of all foreign catfish products imported into the United States in 2008. Imports from Vietnam totaled 52.2 percent of foreign catfish-like products sold in America, and another 12.3 percent were from Thailand.

“Applying USDA regulations to only Chinese imports will not provide the protection American consumers need,” Lowery said.

The Alabama laboratory test results found the high percentages of contamination among the catfish relatives imported from Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and China.

Among the 2 percent of seafood inspections conducted by the FDA in the first nine months of this year, authorities found Vietnamese basa — a catfish-like fish — contaminated with salmonella and illegal veterinary drugs, according to the FDA’s Import Refusals data base. Fully 98 percent of all seafood imports entering the United States from foreign countries are not inspected, according to Lowery.

“There is absolutely no way to determine whether all these imports are safe from contamination or harmful chemicals that aren’t allowed here in the U.S.,” said Lowery. “We want USDA approval that every catfish product imported into America meets the same rigorous standards for quality and safety as our U.S. farm-raised catfish.”

Alabama Commissioner Ron Sparks, in calling a halt to the sale of contaminated imported Asian catfish and related fish, said contaminated fish “will never make it to the dinner plates in Alabama.”

“Our question is: Why should the rest of American consumers have to wait for the same protection from their government?” said Lowery.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Currently, the USDA takes on the inspection of meat and poultry imported into the United States. However, it does not inspect imported seafood, leaving that to the Food and Drug Administration.

In a case of something written into the 2008 farm bill that’s yet to be enacted, U.S. catfish producers are pointing at the USDA’s failure to inspect seafood imports.

Currently, the USDA takes on the inspection of meat and poultry imported into the United States. However, it does not inspect imported seafood, leaving that to the Food and Drug Administration.

The USDA is shirking its responsibility, say critics. That’s because, behind a strong push by U.S. aquaculture interests during the farm bill debate, Congress shifted regulation of catfish products from the FDA to the USDA.

To the chagrin of U.S. catfish producers, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack — despite claims that food safety is among his top priorities — has failed to place all catfish products under USDA jurisdiction.

“We got that in the 2008 farm bill,” says a frustrated Joey Lowery, president of Catfish Farmers of America and a catfish farmer in northeast Arkansas’ Jackson County. “It seemed like a natural for the catfish industry to be under the USDA, as they already inspect all the meat, poultry and dairy products.

“And catfish farming is no different than any other type. It’s the largest aquaculture industry in the country.”

A USDA inspection regime would be “a way to elevate the quality of our product. I can tell you all day long how good the product is and we can spend a lot of money on promotion. But being validated through USDA inspection will do a lot more for catfish.”

This is not the first time U.S. catfish producers have warned inspections are too lax (for more, see Catfish import ban bolsters farmers’ claims).

With the FDA’s paltry inspection numbers for imported seafood, Lowery says, the U.S. populace is likely unwittingly consuming unhealthy products.

“FDA has had the job of inspecting seafood. Part of that is checking imports from China, Vietnam and other countries that export fish to the United States. China ships channels cats to us, just like those we grow. Vietnam ships in basa, tra, and pangasius which are sometimes referred to as ‘Vietnamese catfish.’”

Over the past four years, “something like one of every four shipments inspected has been turned back by our inspectors. But FDA inspections only look at around 2 percent of the imported shipments! And last year, there was something like 5.2 billion pounds of seafood that came into the country.”Extrapolate the high percentage of FDA rejections along with the low number of inspections and Lowery’s concern is evident.

“Ending in May of 2009, in a one-year period, FDA refused entry to 14 shipments of Vietnamese tra and basa. That’s a bit over one rejection per month. But, again, they’re only inspecting 2 percent of the shipments. So the odds aren’t really good on the other 98 percent.

“In my view, one bad shipment that makes its way into the United States is unacceptable. USDA inspections — which are stringent and a daily deal — should take care of that.”

A big problem: how to define “catfish.” As with inspection of imported fish, this is not a new issue for catfish producers (for more, see Call it basa, call it tra, it ain't genuine catfish and U.S., Vietnam in word battle over catfish).

“So, do officials use the narrow definition of ‘catfish’ and inspect only channels? Or do we deal with broader definitions which would encompass the Vietnamese fish? Obviously, we’re pushing for the broader language.”

Cases of illegal import mislabeling also continue (for more, see LDAF stops sale of mislabeled catfish) . But even if the imported product is labeled correctly, says Lowery “the U.S. marketers are still marketing these fish as a substitute for U.S. farm-raised catfish. If they want to be a substitute, they must adhere to the same standards we have to.”

When might the USDA take on seafood inspections?

“Right now, this is in USDA’s hands and they’ll make a recommendation,” says Lowery. “It will then go to OMB (the Office of Budget and Management) for 60 to 90 days. OMB will then come out with a rule. After that, there will be a 60-day public comment period. Following that, within 30 days a final rule will be issued.”

So it could be next spring before a final ruling is announced?

“That’s what I’m thinking, yes. It’s about a 180-day process after it leaves USDA.”

Asked how Southern catfish farmers have done in 2009, Lowery says, “Feed costs have been a big issue for catfish growers. With commodity prices, the feed price has been jacked up.”Fuel has been a bit cheaper than in 2008. “But our input costs are very high — just like with row-crop producers. Like everyone else, we’ve had a lot of rain and that probably prevented some feeding of fish. We haven’t been able to secure a good price to stabilize things and make operations profitable.”

Like other industry leaders, Lowery “unfortunately” sees “some more catfish acreage going out of production. There’s a good possibility that will happen. I know some farmers that had some under-stock they are feeding. When those fish are sold, they’ll probably be done.”

The U.S. catfish industry needs “something positive to happen, something to hang our hat on. Getting the right inspection language would be a big boost, I think.”

The current tough economy “has had an effect on people eating out, and we’ve probably lost around 25 percent of production in the industry in the last couple of years. We peaked out at around 600 million pounds. In 2008, the high was a little over 500 million pounds. This year, processed weight will probably be under 500 million — maybe 450 million to 500 million pounds.”

MS DELTA (WLBT) - The Delta's Catfish industry hopes it will soon be checked for safety by the USDA.

The Delta Council Board Of Directors, a group of agricultural and business interests endorsed a proposal to add catfish to the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Program.

The proposal is supported by the Catfish Farmers Of America. Catfish farmers also want the Obama administration to include Vietnamese imports as catfish so they also can be covered by the new inspections. The USDA regulates all meat products but not seafood . Those inspections are conducted by the food and drug administration.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Just as Southeastern oyster producers are clamoring for the government to stay out of their business, catfish farmers have launched a new ad campaign asking for more regulation of their industry.

"All catfish should be treated equally!," proclaims the Catfish Farmers of America's full-page ad targeting the USDA. The trade group's ads began appearing late last month in major publications, including the Washington Post.

Catfish farmers contend imported seafood should be held to the same stringent standards now applied to imported beef, poultry and pork. Unlike those commodities, which are inspected by the USDA, imported seafood is the domain of the FDA. According to government reports, only 2 percent of the 5.2 billion pounds of seafood that entered the U.S. last year was inspected.

"People are taking it for granted that everything's inspected, and they need to know what's going on," CFA president Joey Lowery says. "This is something that shouldn't even be negotiable, food safety for the American people."

The catfish industry has spent the better part of the last decade lobbying legislators behind-the-scenes and orchestrating letter-writing campaigns for increased inspections, but Lowery says the new ads represent the most aggressive stratagem yet. A CFA release claims that's because lawmakers have "reached a critical point."

Congress last year voted to shift catfish inspection authority to the USDA, but the bill didn't specifically define catfish. The Department of Agriculture is now considering whether its inspectors will be looking at all catfish-like fish or just those grown in channels. American catfish farmers are enthusiastically backing the broad definition.

"The only country raising channel fish is China," grumbles Lowery. "If the narrow definition is put in place, inspections will not be very effective."

Only 27 percent of imported catfish are channel fish, Lowery adds.

If the USDA endorses the narrow definition, the decision will provide a fitting cap for what industry insiders generally agree has been a miserable few years for catfish farmers. In a release issued by the University of Arkansas to mark National Catfish Month this past August, extension aquaculture specialist Steve Pomerleau was quoted as calling the last two years the "most difficult" in the industry's history. Rising feed prices and increased competition from abroad have conspired to put many farmers out of business.

"We've lost acreage, we've lost producers," Lowery says.

Still, Lowery is hoping he'll be able to add a notch to the industry's win column after Secretary Tom Vilsack decrees what counts as catfish.

"We're making it harder on ourselves to prove the quality of our product," Lowery says of the request featured in the group's newspaper ads. "Anyone coming in should adhere to those same standards

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

By DAVID WEBB davidwebb@ddtonline.comTuesday, November 10, 2009 12:54 PM CST

STONEVILLE — No matter where or how it is grown, all food produced for human consumption should be subject to rigorous safety inspections, according to U.S. catfish farmers and their advocates.

The Delta Council’s Board of Directors passed a aquaculture resolution at its 75th anniversary midyear board of directors meeting last week seeking inclusion of the catfish industry in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food safety inspection program.

The resolution calls upon the agency and the Mississippi congressional delegation to work with the catfish industry to immediately authorize new oversight of aquaculture products.

“We want the USDA to treat catfish just like it does beef, pork and poultry,” said John Phillips, chairman of the Delta Council executive committee, at the Nov. 6 meeting.

The measure is supported by Catfish Farmers of America, which has asked Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to enact legislative provisions in the 2008 farm bill to ensure that domestic and imported catfish meet health and safety standards. The USDA currently regulates all meat products, but it does not inspect seafood.

The inspection of imported seafood is now administered by the Food and Drug Administration, but it reportedly inspected only 2 percent of all seafood, including catfish, in 2008, according to the catfish farmers association.

Only catfish and other species within the catfish family would be shifted from the purview of the FDA to the USDA under the proposal backed by the Delta Council and the catfish farmers group.

The U.S. reportedly imported 5.2 billion pounds of seafood in 2008.

The catfish farmers group complains that seafood processing lobbying groups, such as the National Fisheries Institute, are trying to get USDA inspections limited to “channel” catfish raised on domestic catfish farms and imported from China. That would leave out Vietnam’s species of “tra” and “basa,” which is from the catfish family.

The group claims that catfish grown in Vietnam comes from the Mekong River Delta, which reportedly is muddy and polluted with dangerous chemicals, and that one in five shipments inspected by the FDA in 2008 was refused entry to the U.S. because of contamination by illegal substances.

U.S. catfish farmers have long complained that substandard aquaculture is practiced in Asian countries. But critics of the group claim its motivation has more to do with profits than concerns about consumer safety.

Concerns have been raised that the catfish fight could lead to Vietnam purchasing smaller amounts of beef from the U.S. It is now the third-largest importer of American beef.

Joey Lowery, president of Catfish Farmers of America, said that his group’s only motivation is consumer safety.

“U.S. consumers currently believe that their seafood is subject to the same rigorous inspection standards as those imposed on meat and poultry products,” Lowery said in a letter published on the group’s Website. “However, that is not the case under the existing Food and Drug Administration standards, and the domestic catfish industry is dedicated to fighting for increased consumer food safety.”

Monday, November 9, 2009

Commissioner Ron Sparks of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries announced on Wednesday a Stop Sale on catfish and basa products imported from Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, China and Vietnam due to positive results for the antibiotic fluoroquinolones.

A total of 40 samples of basa type products and catfish were tested from the five Asian countries, out of which 18 product samples yielded positive results for fluoroquinolones.

Fluoroquinolones and quinolones are chemotherapeutic bactericidal drugs used to kill bacteria by interfering with their DNA replication. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not allow the use of fluoroquinolones in seafood.

Sparks has issued nine orders of suspension from sale or movement for 486 cases of product weighing 8,840 lbs. These products were either voluntarily destroyed or returned to the importer after the Alabama Department notified the FDA of the drug traces.

The Alabama Department’s detection reporting limit is 1 part per billion (ppb) or greater. In the results, 17 samples were in the 1-5ppb range and one sample tested greater than 50ppb.

The basa type products tested were swai, sutchi and pangasius. Out of 19 Vietnamese samples, 12 tested positive; both Cambodian samples tested positive; one of three Indonesian samples tested positive; one of seven Thai samples tested positive; and one Chinese sample tested positive.

Product samples continue to be collected and tested. Enforcement action will be implemented as necessary.

“The Automatic Stop Sale Order criteria established in April of 2007 is still in effect,” stated Sparks. “This series of tests that we have just completed indicates the importance of the continuation of the Stop Sale Order.”

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Catfish Farmers Want Imports InspectedCalls on Congress to tighten regulations.Compiled by staff Published: Oct 19, 2009The Catfish Farmers of America this week launched a major advertising and public safety awareness campaign called "All Catfish Should be Treated Equally". The campaign urges the USDA to enact a congressionally approved law requiring all imported catfish to meet the same stringent health and safety standards as imported beef, poultry and pork. "We've launched this campaign because of the urgency of this health and safety issue," said Joey Lowery, president of the Catfish Farmers of America. "We need Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to enact this law now. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our families. U.S. catfish farmers fully support the toughest and widest-ranging regulations and inspections that will protect American consumers when it comes to catfish - both imported and domestic."

While the USDA currently inspects and ensures the safety of all meat and poultry products sold in the United States, it does not inspect seafood. The inspection of seafood is conducted by the Food and Drug Administration.

Last year 5.2 billion pounds of seafood were imported into the United States from foreign countries. However, the FDA inspected only two percent of all imported seafood, including catfish, according to the Government Accountability Office.

"There is absolutely no way to determine whether all these imports are safe from contamination or harmful chemicals that aren't allowed here in the U.S.," said Lowery. "We want USDA approval that every catfish product imported into America meets the same rigorous standards for quality and safety as our farm-raised catfish."

The Catfish Farmers of America started its "All Catfish Should Be Treated Equally" campaign this week because the administration has reached a critical point in the decision-making process for enacting the law.

The U.S. Congress, responding to evidence of serious problems with the quality of imported catfish, voted to move catfish inspections and regulation from the FDA to USDA as part of the 2008 Farm Bill. USDA Secretary Vilsack, who has made food safety one of his top priorities, is now considering whether to require that all imported catfish meet USDA standards, or to include only Chinese "channel" catfish which are grown from young U.S. catfish stock.

Catfish products are also imported to the United States from Vietnam and Thailand where fish from the catfish family are called "tra" or "basa." Among the two percent of seafood imports from Vietnam inspected by the FDA during a recent four-year period, nearly one in every five seafood shipments, including catfish, was contaminated with potentially deadly chemicals or drugs that are banned by the United States in farm-raised catfish, according to the FDA.

In a bipartisan appeal, Sen. Blanche L. Lincoln, D-Ark., chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, urged Vilsack to "support a broad definition of catfish that will ensure that catfish products meet the standards for safety that Americans have come to expect from the U.S. Department of Agriculture."

Open Ponds Could Be Key to Algae-Biodiesel Production1 Comment Posted by John Davis – October 20th, 2009 Rising feed prices for catfish farms and the rising Chinese market are bad news for those in the South, as more than 320,000 catfish pond acres could be up for grabs. But where one door closes, another opens, as a possible glut of open-air ponds could provide a boon for those looking to raise algae for biodiesel.

To explore the possibilities, the National Algae Association Mid-South Chapter is presenting a workshop on November 18-19, 2009 in Memphis, Tennessee at the Holiday Inn Select Hotel, downtown. This association press release says the key speakers will include Barry Cohen, Director of the National Algae Association; Terri Chiang of Biomass Partners, LLC; and Ron Putt of Auburn University:

The workshop’s focus will be highlighted by a motor coach trip to Saul Fish Farm, a leading aquaculture facility in Des Arc, Arkansas where attendees will go on a walking tour to get a first-hand glimpse of the scope and potential for algal open pond production. Rodney Saul, owner of Saul Fish Farm will describe his procedures for growing algae for aquaculture applications. While at the farm, attendees will hear from additional speakers and interact in open forums on algal growing techniques, harvesting, and extraction methods.

Deadline submission for white papers for open pond algal growth systems, technologies, and support equipment is November 1st for review by the executive committee for potential inclusion in the workshop.

“This event is very timely in light of the strong interest in alternatives to expensive, closed-loop algae production systems, says Tamra Fakhoorian, president of the NAA Mid-South Chapter. She continues, “Given the current availability of hundreds of thousands of existing pond acres in the South and new applicable technologies coming on-line, aquaculture farmers and entrepreneurs alike are taking a good look at the economic feasibility of becoming open pond algae farmers. This workshop will address the opportunities, the challenges and late-breaking solutions for open pond production.”

You can get more information on registration here. Early registration goes on through November 4th.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Posted on Sun, Oct. 18, 2009 11:08 PMIn Seafood Industry, Regulation Isn't FishyBy STEVE EVERLYThe Kansas City StarBreaking NewsSuspicious containers found in Lawrence Person of interest identified in fatal Lawrence hit-and-run Recalled baby food may be tainted with botulism Chiefs trade Tank Tyler to Carolina Billy Joel, Elton John coming to KC in December Missouri to lay off 100 state parks workers Jury convicts Raytown man in videotaped killing at south KC bar Woman charged with dropping toddler from balcony Navy recruiter sentenced to 15 years in KC sex sting Truck plunges into south KC creek DNR closes Lake of the Ozarks beach for high E. coli NBC Action Weather | A nice evening; clouds move in Tuesday Burke to enter KC mayor race No one injured after small plane lands in grass Missouri prison population at all-time high Southwest Missouri man killed in hunting accident More charges expected in 2006 group home fire that killed 11 Two-week hospital stay possible for injured KC fire captain KCK man shot to death is identified Former Kansas congressman Glickman to step down as head of MPAA Don’t lump the U.S. seafood industry in with businesses that are sick and tired of big government. This is one sector that wants more regulation, and the sooner the better.

The problem is seafood sold at less than the weight listed on the package, which an industry gathering earlier this year described as “premeditated, organized and intentional” fraud.

Industry groups want regulators to be more aggressive in helping curb the abuse, which has some seafood selling at 10 to 35 percent less than its labeled weight. Though it’s difficult to say just how widespread shortweighting is, the industry fears the losses are substantial for honest vendors and for consumers, given that nearly $23 billion in seafood was sold in the U.S. last year.

“We want to shine a light on this so we can get rid of it,” said Gavin Gibbons, a spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute, the country’s largest seafood trade group, whose members include chain restaurants, wholesalers and fishermen.

The U.S. consumes 5 billion pounds of seafood a year, 80 percent of it imported and most of it frozen. That makes the industry and consumers particularly vulnerable because a package that says, for example, 10 pounds of shrimp is supposed to contain 10 pounds of shrimp — plus any ice. But without a careful thawing, draining and weighing, it’s nearly impossible to tell whether excess ice could be cheating the buyer.

On top of that, the Food and Drug Administration inspects only 2 percent of seafood and focuses on food safety more than possible underweighting.

There are signs the industry’s message is being heard, as the FDA says it is considering a tougher approach and recently issued a warning about ice being wrongly included in listed weights.

“We do take economic fraud seriously,” said Stephanie Kwisnek, a FDA spokeswoman.

State regulators also are looking at the issue, though only a few states routinely check the weight of seafood, in part because it takes special equipment and can be expensive.

Neither Kansas nor Missouri currently performs the tests, but Ron Hayes, Missouri’s division director for weights and measures, said the seafood issue was only recently brought to his agency’s attention.

“Very likely we’ll be doing some testing,” he said.

The nature of the seafood business has long made it vulnerable to some forms of deception, such as substituting a cheaper species of fish for one that can snare a higher price, or making up names that suggest a better — and more expensive — product. Earlier this year, for instance, federal regulators said that calling Vietnamese catfish “white roughy” was misleading.

As for shortweighting, it’s difficult to say how common the problem is because of the lack of comprehensive data, the Government Accountability Office said in a recent report.

But the Better Seafood Board, another industry group seeking to stamp out the fraud, says the practice has become so brazen that one Chinese supplier offered wholesalers three different prices for channel catfish. The more deceptive the weight of a package, the cheaper the price was for a “pound” of fish.

Similar solicitations are appearing in California, which has inspected seafood for decades, said Kurt Floren, who is in charge of weights and measures for Los Angeles County. He said that he first saw evidence of shortweighting more than a decade ago and that awareness of the problem is increasing.Some Kansas City area wholesalers said they also knew that shortweighted product was available from some suppliers, but they refused to buy it.

Wisconsin is another state that checks for underweighted seafood, and regulators there say they have found “quite a bit of it,” with packages of frozen seafood getting as much as 25 percent of their weight from ice.

“I think it’s a significant problem,” said Judy Cardin, chief of weights and measures for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

An ice glaze is typically applied to help protect seafood from dehydration and freezer burn. But more glaze than needed can be applied, and in any case none of the ice is supposed to be counted as part of the seafood’s weight.

The American Frozen Food Institute, which represents companies that sell frozen seafood, said it was monitoring the issue but had not decided whether there’s a problem that needs increased regulation.

But the industry gathering earlier this year, which a representative of the Frozen Food Institute attended, came to a different conclusion. More than two dozen people representing industry groups, wholesale seafood companies, and state and federal regulators attended the “seafood forum” in May at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal agency in Gaithersburg, Md.

According to the memorandum summarizing the meeting, there was consensus that shortweighting of seafood was occurring not only in the U.S. but in other countries as well. The summary said further that a concerted effort is needed, including more regulation and consumer education about the fraud.

Industry groups at the forum argued that checking for economic fraud could also improve food safety, because a company that cheated on weight might be more likely to also breach food safety rules.

FDA officials at the forum promised to consider whether such a link existed between food safety and shortweighting.

Perhaps most important for the industry groups, it said it would consider making economic fraud a larger part of its seafood enforcement strategy.

So far, the FDA hasn’t put more resources into inspections for shortweighting, but the industry groups want it to follow through.

“They have a role to play,” said Gibbons of the National Fisheries Institute. “That’s what we pay taxes for.”

Monday, October 19, 2009

10.16.2009 3:00 pmPoll: What’s the origin of your catfish?By Harry Jackson Jr.Email thisShare this Print this Digg Yahoo! Del.icio.us Facebook Reddit Drudge Google Fark Stumble It! The American catfish industry is demanding that the USDA ensure that imported catfish is safe.This fresh out of Jackson, Miss.: Catfish farmers – a major industry in the Southeast, and growing in Missouri — are demanding that the U.S. Department of Agriculture impose the same rules of safety, freshness and cleanliness on imported catfish.You mean they don’t already? Apparently not. I didn’t know there was a fight about this. Now, I find out that that earlier this year the Alabama Agriculture found antibiotics that are banned in America, in catfish imported from China. As a result the Alabama Ag Commissioner banned the sale of catfish from China.Catfish Farmers of America want federal legislation that scrutinizes imported fish as closely as American fish.Also news, the American Agriculture Department doesn’t inspect imported seafood. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does that, and according to Alabama, not very well. Last year 5.2 billion pounds of seafood were imported into the United States last year, says the catfish farmers organization. Two percent was inspected by the FDA, says the organization. (Of course it’s infinitely more complicated than that.)Still,

Does it matter to you where the catfish you buy comes from?

Yes. I always buy American fish. No. price matters more than origin. Not my problem. I only eat catfish in Grafton, Ill., where I watch them catch it out of their back doors.

Friday, October 16, 2009U.S. Catfish Industry Launches Campaign Urging USDA to Ensure Safety of Imported Catfish The Catfish Farmers of America this week launched a major advertising and public safety awareness campaign urging the USDA to enact a Congressionally approved law requiring all imported catfish to meet the same stringent health and safety standards as imported beef, poultry and pork.

“We’ve launched this campaign because of the urgency of this health and safety issue,” said Joey Lowery, president of the Catfish Farmers of America. “We need Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to enact this law now. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our families. U.S. catfish farmers fully support the toughest and widest-ranging regulations and inspections that will protect American consumers when it comes to catfish—both imported and domestic.”

While the USDA currently inspects and ensures the safety of all meat and poultry products sold in the United States, it does not inspect seafood. The inspection of seafood is conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Last year 5.2 billion pounds of seafood were imported into the United States from foreign countries. However, the FDA inspected only two percent of all imported seafood, including catfish, according to the Government Accountability Office.

“There is absolutely no way to determine whether all these imports are safe from contamination or harmful chemicals that aren’t allowed here in the U.S.,” said Lowery. “We want USDA approval that every catfish product imported into America meets the same rigorous standards for quality and safety as our farm-raised catfish.”

The Catfish Farmers of America started its “All Catfish Should Be Treated Equally” campaign this week because the administration has reached a critical point in the decision-making process for enacting the law.

The U.S. Congress, responding to evidence of serious problems with the quality of imported catfish, voted to move catfish inspections and regulation from the FDA to USDA as part of the 2008 Farm Bill. USDA Secretary Vilsack, who has made food safety one of his top priorities, is now considering whether to require that all imported catfish meet USDA standards, or to include only Chinese “channel” catfish which are grown from young U.S. catfish stock.

Catfish products are also imported to the United States from Vietnam and Thailand where fish from the catfish family are called “tra” or “basa.” Among the two percent of seafood imports from Vietnam inspected by the FDA during a recent four-year period, nearly one in every five seafood shipments, including catfish, was contaminated with potentially deadly chemicals or drugs that are banned by the United States in farm-raised catfish, according to the FDA.

In a bipartisan appeal, Sen. Blanche L. Lincoln (D-Ark.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, urged Vilsack to “support a broad definition of catfish that will ensure that catfish products meet the standards for safety that Americans have come to expect from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA.)”

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

• MISC. Troutman Sanders Public Affairs Group is lobbying for the Catfish Farmers of America of Jackson, Miss. Ben Noble, a former legislative assistant to Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), and Robert Leebern, former chief of staff to then-Rep. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), are lobbying on a U.S. Department of Agriculture regulation on inspection of catfish.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Eligible aquaculture producers, including catfish and crawfish producers, are reminded that signup continues at the Farm Service Agency Office for participation in the Farmable Wetlands Program, an important component of the Conservation Reserve Program.

Authorized incentives include a payment of $100 per acre, an incentive payment of 40 percent of the cost to establish the practice and a 120 percent rental rate.Land eligibility for the Farmable Wetlands Program, under CRP, now includes land that was devoted to commercial pond-raised aquaculture in any year from 2002 to 2007.Commercial pond-raised aquaculture means any earthen facility from which $1,000 or more of freshwater food fish were sold or normally would have been sold during a calendar year.Producers must provide verification of commercial pond-raised aquaculture with supporting records such as feed purchase records, stocker purchase records, harvest and/or sales records.Aquaculture facilities must be out of production before the effective date of an approved contract. Through FWP, the Farm Service Agency establishes 10-15 year contracts with agricultural producers.FWP participants must agree to restore the hydrology of the wetlands, to establish vegetative cover which may include emerging vegetation in water, bottomland hardwoods, cypress and other appropriate tree species, and to the general prohibition of using of the enrolled land for commercial purposes, including crawfishing for commercial purposes.For additional details and information on all new CRP Farmable Wetlands Program initiatives or other FSA conservation programs, contact the local FSA Office. Information is also available on the web at www.fsa.usda.gov.

Friday, October 2, 2009

LINCOLN, NE (September 30, 2009) - State Executive Director, Dan Steinkruger announced that producers may begin applying for benefits under the provisions of the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) at their county FSA office. This permanent disaster program as authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill replaced previous ad-hoc disaster assistance programs and is funded through the Agricultural Disaster Relief Trust Fund.

ELAP provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish that have grazing or feed losses due to insects, adverse weather such as blizzards, tornados, freeze, hail, wildfires, flooding, and colony collapse disorder for honey bees or death loss of farm-raised fish due to contaminated water or excessive heat. ELAP assistance is for losses not covered under other Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance programs established by the 2008 Farm Bill, specifically the Livestock Forage Program (LFP), the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE). ELAP is being implemented to fill in the gap and provide assistance under other conditions determined to be appropriate and funding is limited to 50 million dollars each year so payments may be prorated.

Producers who suffered losses in calendar year 2008 must provide a notice of loss and application for payment along with supporting documentation to their administrative county office no later than December 10, 2009. Producers who suffered eligible losses between January 1, 2009 and September 10, 2009 must provide a notice of loss no later than December 10, 2009, and an application for payment no later than January 30, 2010. Late filed applications will not be accepted.

For the ELAP program, producers must have suffered losses that occurred on or after Jan. 1, 2008, and before Oct. 1, 2011. There is a total $100,000 limitation per crop year that applies to payments received under ELAP, LFP, LIP or SURE.

For more information or to apply for ELAP and other USDA Farm Service Agency disaster assistance programs, please visit your FSA county office or www.fsa.usda.gov.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

September 30, 2009 12:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is Fan Favorite at Mid-South Fair SOUTHAVEN, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Catfish Institute (TCI), along with Chef Ivo Puidak of the “Bass Pro Shops Big Cat Quest” television series, performed cooking demonstrations last weekend at the Mid-South Fair featuring tasty U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish. Ken Freeman, of Freeman Outdoor Promotions was also on-hand with the world’s largest mobile aquarium, featuring live catfish, bass and perch.

“U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is a product I am proud to support,” said Chef Ivo. “It’s earth-friendly, healthy and versatile. That versatility makes it the perfect substitute in most recipes. Doing cooking demonstrations and providing food samples at the Mid-South Fair is a way to remind people of this great seafood product. It’s American-grown – it just can’t be beat.”

In addition to Chef Ivo’s cooking demonstrations, Freeman provided entertainment through catfish races, in which three participants raced catfish through a drag-strip-style fish corral.

“I enjoy preparing events for people to come and learn about the fish, and have a good time as well,” said Freeman. “The aquarium, catfish races and free food samples draw them over to our area, and then we are able to remind them of the healthfulness and down-home goodness of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish.”

TCI representatives were also on-hand this weekend to provide recipe booklets, hand-held “I’m a fan of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish” fans and free bottles of a seafood sauce to help encourage fair-goers to try cooking catfish at home.

Freeman will continue to provide free tastings of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish throughout the week of September 28th.

The Catfish Institute was founded in 1986 by catfish feed mills and their producer members with the goal of raising consumer awareness about the benefits of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish. To learn more about U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish, view our web site at www.UScatfish.com.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

(CN) - Catfish Farmers of America convinced the Department of Commerce to reconsider an antidumping order on frozen fish fillets from Vietnam. The agency agreed that it needed to review aspects of the order and asked the Court of International Trade for a remand, which the court granted. The department will reconsider international freight expense, the valuation of labels, and the calculation of the surrogate value for fish oil for QVC Foods Inc. The court dismissed the remaining challenges to the antidumping order.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

One might go something like this: “I hooked a whopper out on Lake Monticello, fought it hard and then watched it jump and spit the hook out. I slammed my rod down. Ah, the one that got away.”

Largemouth bass is the most sought-after freshwater sport fish in Arkansas and in the United States, said Colton Dennis, black-bass program supervisor with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

The white, fleshy meat of the bass is good to eat, but unlike catfish and tilapia, it’s not regularly sold in restaurants or supermarkets.

Researchers at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Aquaculture and Fisheries Department are attempting to find out why that’s the case.

They’re conducting studies to see whether it’s cost effective to farm-raise largemouth bass to sell in supermarkets as uncooked filets or to prepare and sell in seafood restaurants.

UAPB Aquaculture and Fisheries Department Chairman Carole Engle said the idea for the project was spawned after UAPB conducted focus group surveys in Little Rockon the marketability of hybrid striped bass.

During the surveys, most of the participants kept steering the conversation to largemouth bass, a fish with which they were more familiar.

“A lot of the people we talked to, regardless which group they were in, liked the idea of largemouth bass filets being available,” Engle said. “They had a very positive attitude toward largemouth bass filets and said they would be very, very receptive to purchasing filets.”

Engle said part of why they’re not widely commercially available now is that feed for largemouth bass, which survive on high-protein diets, is more expensive than feed for catfish. Because of this, largemouth bass filets would have to sell at a higher price than comparable catfish filets in grocery stores and restaurants.

Arkansas has the second largest aquaculture industry in the country, behind Mississippi.

Half of the state’s production is farm-raised catfish, which swim the same rivers and lakes as largemouth bass and are widely available in Arkansas supermarkets, restaurants and even gas stations.

“There are a lot of people who like to eat [largemouth] bass, especially in this state. But it may be that the fish are too expensive to raise compared to what people are willing to pay in the supermarket,” Engle said.

Engle, who earned her doctorate in aquaculture economics from Auburn University in Alabama, said, “We will do an economic analysis to see if it’s feasible.”

In Arkansas, largemouth bass is considered a game fish - just like crappie and trout - and cannot be sold after being caught in the wild, even if the fisherman has a commercial fishing license, said Keith Stephens, a spokesman for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

However, largemouth bass can be farm-raised in Arkansas and sold as food by those with a fish-farming license, Stephens said.

That license is available for $25 and can be renewed annually for free.

At Kentucky State University, the university’s division of aquaculture has been farm-raising largemouth bass for nearly 20 years to sell live in markets in Toronto and Chicago.

Jim Tidwell, chairman of the aquaculture department at Kentucky State, said he sells the fish for about $5 a pound live to those markets, and retail buyers purchase the fish for as much as $11 a pound.

Largemouth bass are more expensive to farm-raise than catfish, Tidwell said, noting that catfish feed costs $350 a ton, compared with $800 to $1,000 a ton for bass feed.

A bass has two filets, which together equal about 40 percent of its body weight, Tidwell said.

If a largemouth bass is filleted, it could sell wholesale for about $12 a pound, he said. After markup, the largemouth bass filets could go for $15 or more a pound in a supermarket, Tidwell estimated.

While expensive like swordfish and Chilean sea bass, largemouth bass produced on a fish farm tastes better than bass caught in the wild, Tidwell thinks.

“I don’t really care for wild-caught bass, especially when the water is warm, but these guys raised on pellets, to me, are much better-tasting,” Tidwell said. “They taste just like a great big blue gill [bream]. They’re first cousin to a blue gill, and a blue gill has a real sweet taste that’s really kind of unique.”

There are at least three fish farms in Arkansas that raise largemouth bass to be sold live in seafood markets, said Mike Freeze, a former Arkansas Game and Fish commissioner and the vice president of KeoFish Farms in Keo.

The owner of one of those farms - David Dunn of Dunn’s Fish Farm in Monroe south of Brinkley - said he gets $4.75 a pound for a live bass. His price for filets would be $9.50 a pound, and by the time it would hit the supermarket it could be as high as $16 a pound, he said.

“Right now, people in the United States would not purchase largemouth bass in supermarkets because there’s too many inexpensive alternatives,” Dunn said. “Right now, you can go out and buy steaks for everybody in the family a lot cheaper than you can feed them bass.”

Still, UAPB researchers want to find out what kind of yields they get in the 12 ponds stocked with largemouth bass, four with 7,500 fish, four with 5,000 fish and four with 2,500 fish.

Engle said UAPB will harvest the bass next month, when the fish would be about 18 months old.

“We don’t know yet how big they are,” Engle said. “Part of what we want to find out with this study is whether we’re farm-raising them long enough to get these fish to a size where we can get a filet off.”

Thursday, September 10, 2009

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Sen. Blanche Lincoln will become the first woman to head the Senate agriculture committee under leadership changes made because of Ted Kennedy's death.

Lincoln, D-Ark., said implementing the new federal farm bill and ending the trade embargo with Cuba are among the top issues facing the Senate panel.

"I've always supported opening up trade with Cuba, and I'll continue to do so. I can't single-handedly make it happen as chairman of the committee," she said Wednesday, adding that she would do her best to keep the issue front and center.

Lincoln takes over from Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who will replace Kennedy as chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in a series of leadership changes announced Wednesday.

"As a seventh-generation Arkansan and farmer's daughter, I know my father is smiling down on me today," Lincoln said.

Lincoln is a supporter of government farm subsidies who has served on Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry January 1999. When she was a congresswoman, she served on the House Agriculture Committee from 1993-1995.

Lincoln said the committee has always been a top choice for her during her time in Congress.

"As the chairman, I'm going to again enjoy an elevated opportunity to really help our state, and that's exactly what I'll be aiming to do," she said.

Farm advocates in her home state praised the move, saying they hoped it would increase the state's clout on agricultural issues.

"Agriculture is the largest industry in our state," said Randy Veach, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau. "Her being in that position gives us an opportunity to keep agriculture financially sound and stable."

Lincoln said she ended up first in line for the job because other more senior senators — Sens. Max Baucus, Kent Conrad and Patrick Leahy — already serve as chairmen of other committees.

"The ag committee is a very old committee, and it's also a very senior committee in the sense that most of the members have been on there for quite some time, and that means there's not a lot of turnover in terms of chairmanship," she said.

In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Lincoln downplayed the notion that the new role would make her more politically powerful as she runs for re-election next year.

"I fully expect there'll be many challengers out there. It's kind of the season for that, I suppose," she said.

Six Republicans have announced bids for Lincoln's seat, and state Senate President Bob Johnson says he's considering challenging her in the Democratic primary. Lincoln has more than $3.2 million cash on hand for her re-election bid.

Arkansas Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb said he wasn't optimistic that Lincoln would be able to help farmers in the new position, saying Lincoln does not stand firm against President Barack Obama.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Studying fish once seemed so simple: find out where they were biting and keep it under your hat. Now the study of fish has evolved into Ph.D.-level programs that can make fish bigger, tastier and a larger part of the nation's economy.

The University of Arkansas' board of trustees on Friday approved a doctoral program for the Aquaculture-Fisheries Center of Excellence at its Pine Bluff campus. It's the first Ph.D. program for the 3,000-student campus at the edge of the Arkansas Delta.

"I don't think I've ever seen a stronger and more positive review" of a program proposal, UA system vice president for university relations Dan Ferritor told the UA system board at a meeting Friday in Little Rock.

The doctoral program could give a boost to Pine Bluff, hurt in recent decades by relocation of railroad jobs to other sites and closure of several industries, as well as by the current recession.

Smaller communities in the depressed Delta region should also benefit, as aquaculture farming operations take advantage of the scientific and practical expertise that UAPB has built up over more than 20 years. The nation's largest fish-feed plant, ARKAT Nutrition, operates in Dumas, population 5,200, working closely with the UAPB program.

While a typical image of fishing involves dropping a line from a bamboo pole, formalized fish farming has been a part of the Arkansas economy for decades.

UAPB opened its Aquaculture-Fisheries Center in 1988 to work with fish farmers of all varieties: catfish farmers raising meat for dining tables, baitfish farmers raising minnows for anglers' hooks, and others raising ornamental goldfish or goldfish that will end up as food for larger ornamentals in aquariums.

All the feeder goldfish raised in the country come from Arkansas, said Carole Engle, the center's director.

In addition to conducting research and training people seeking careers in natural fisheries or fish-farming, the center is a major resource for Arkansas' $130 million fish-farming industry. It also trains people in natural fisheries disciplines who go on to work for agencies like the state Game and Fish Commission and the federal Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We've become famous for finding ways to diagnose" problems at fish farms, said Andy Goodwin, the center's associate director and lab chief. Such problems, he said, can involve sick or dying fish, or fish that simply don't grow at the usual rate.

"UAPB has been more proactive in working toward solutions to our recent problems than any other university, with new feed, economics, marketing and management studies," said Joe Lowery, president of the Catfish Farmers of America.

Those problems include fish diseases, nutritional problems, parasites and mechanical difficulties that might affect production, according to UAPB faculty.

Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi are the leading catfish-farming states, with 166 catfish farms in Arkansas, 268 in Alabama and 451 in Mississippi in 2007 — the latest year for which figures are available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Arkansas alone sold about 10 million pounds of catfish that year, the USDA said.

Engle said other schools with fisheries degrees encouraged UAPB to consider a doctoral program, given commercial fishing's importance in the Arkansas and Mississippi deltas. If approved by the state Higher Education Coordinating Board — a step expected by next spring — the first candidates will be accepted in fall 2010. Graduates will likely end up researching in the private sector or teaching.

Since its founding, the Aquaculture-Fisheries Center has graduated 85 people with bachelor's degrees and 55 with master's degrees. Nearly half of the graduate degree recipients went on to pursue doctorates elsewhere. The bulk of those with B.A.s pursued an advanced degree or went to work for government agencies.

Nekea Walker, a recruiter for the fisheries-aquaculture program, said the availability of a terminal-degree track can be a big incentive to students considering the school's undergraduate or master's programs.

"Having a Ph.D. program on this campus not only helps our department, it helps the whole campus," said Walker, who worked in the fisheries programs when she was an undergraduate.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Our best wishes and high hopes for Steeve Pomerleave, Aquaculture Extension Specialist at UAPB, go with him as he begins a new career as production manager for America's Catch in Itta Bena, Mississippi. Steeve has been a true blessing for the industry and the university.

New Arkansas Grown Website AvailabeLaura Wise, Deputy Director of Aquaculture,Arkansas Agriculture DepartmentThe website link listed below was developed by the Arkansas Agriculture Department (AAD) to help potential buyers locate Arkansas producers. Any resident of Arkansas who produces an agricultural product in our state may, at no charge, list their marketing information here. AAD may also make this information available for distribution in other formats.

The information provided is suppled by the producer and its listing does not imply any sponsorship or endorsement by AAD. While an effort is made to verify the information submitted, AAD cannot guarantee its accuracy. The same can be said for links to other websites. THese hyperlinks are provided as a service and we try to ensure their appropriateness. However, AAD does not assume any responsibility for the appropriateness or accuracy of the content of any linked site.

Arkansas Agriculture is diverse in crops and scale of production. So no matter what you are looking for Arkansas farmers probably produce it and we hope the content provided here at ArkansasGrown.org helps you find it.

Governor Mike Beebe has re-appointed Bari Cain of McCrory, Jerry Williamson of Lake Village, and Bill Trout of Dermott to the Arkansas Catfish Promotion Board. Their terms will expire on June 30, 2011.

The Arkansas Catfish Promotion Board is an advisory committee comprised of catfish farmers who oversee the funding of various promotional activities and universtiy research projects.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Mississippi’s catfish industry is facing some major obstacles as producers are dealing with very high feed prices, declining acreage and fierce competition from imported fish.

John Anderson, Mississippi State University Extension Service agricultural economist, said the most significant influence on catfish prices since the fall of 2008 has been the condition of the overall economy.

“Catfish demand suffered from the economic decline that began in early 2008 and accelerated rapidly with the financial crisis last fall,” Anderson said. “Products like catfish that depend significantly on away-from-home consumption tend to be hurt the worst during a recession.”

As evidence of this weak demand, prices are lower this summer than last year’s prices, and production has also been down by 5 percent to 10 percent.

“Hopefully the economy will move into a recovery phase in the latter half of this year,” Anderson said. “An economic upturn corresponding with less catfish production this year than last should provide the basis for a recovery in prices by sometime this fall.”

Mississippi has just 70,000 acres of catfish ponds, down from a high of 113,000 acres in 2001. The state still leads the nation in catfish production. Feed prices that only a few years ago were about $240 a ton are now $330 a ton.

Jim Steeby, Extension fisheries specialist at the Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center in Stoneville, Miss., said increasing imports of catfish and whitefish such as tilapia are putting pressure on catfish sales.

“Growers in these countries, especially China, have low-cost labor, favorable currency rates and support from their governments. Their prices are well below those of our domestically produced catfish,” Steeby said. “But their production standards frequently lack integrity.”

The industry is trying to battle imports and establish U.S. farm-raised catfish as a superior product. Recent federal and state labeling laws now require catfish served in restaurants and sold at retail to have country of origin labels.

The industry is also addressing the issue of imports by attempting to move the catfish inspection program from the National Marine Fisheries Service to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Changing the inspecting agency to USDA will mean that imports must meet more stringent requirements for safety and quality,” Steeby said. “The problem with many food imports is that some products contain substances such as antibiotics that do not meet U.S. safety and health standards.”

Steeby said the USDA is setting up this inspection program, which will subject catfish to the same type of food inspection required of poultry and red meat.

“If imports cannot meet these new standards, they will not be allowed in,” Steeby said.

Researchers at MSU continue to work with the industry as it adjusts to economic conditions. Current projects are focused on feed management, possible improvements to the refinement of grains and other feed ingredients, and ways to manage feed budgets more effectively.

“Other researchers at MSU are looking at genetic issues and possibly producing catfish hybrids that have faster growth rates and resistance to common disease organisms,” Steeby said.

In the meantime, Mississippi producers continue to try to find success with catfish.

“Catfish may be headed back to being marketed as a Southeastern specialty as the industry is downsizing,” Steeby said. “Consumers in the Southeast are not likely to accept a substitute product for U.S. farm-raised catfish.”

Thursday, August 27, 2009

August may be National Catfish Month, but in Acadiana, that label could apply year-round.Fried catfish or catfish courtbouillon can be found on many plate lunch menus around the area, especially on Friday.It can also be found on the menus of fine dining restaurants grilled and swimming in a creamy sauce or covered with crawfish etouffée.Catfish is a southern favorite, but in some areas, it has the reputation of being a "trash fish."Roger Barlow, president of the Catfish Institute and executive vice president of the Catfish Farmers of America, explains."I think there's been a misperception about catfish that are farm-raised and catfish caught in the wild," Barlow said from his office in Jackson, Miss.Farm-raised catfish live in earthen ponds and are fed grain pellets, Barlow said. The pellets are made with soybeans, rice, corn or wheat."It gives them a slightly sweet flavor," he said.Farm-raised catfish are trained to rise to the surface during feeding time, unlike their counterparts in the wild, which feed on the bottom of the lake, Barlow said.Farm catfish grow to 1- to 2 1/2 pounds before they are harvested.Ninety-five percent of U.S. catfish are raised in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas.Barlow encourages diners in restaurants and shoppers to make sure the catfish they plan to consume came from a U.S. farm and is not imported fish.Grilled Citrus Rosemary CatfishFor the catfish:4 catfish filets1„2 fresh lemon per filletCitrus Sauce:Zest of one lime

Zest of one lemon

Zest of one orange

Juice of one lime6 ounces pineapple juice1„2 cup brown sugar1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped1„4 teaspoon saltPreheat grill. To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer 5 minutes.Place catfish in a shallow dish and squeeze 1„2 fresh lemon over each. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Let sit for 5 minutes.(2 of 2)Place catfish filets on grill, skin side up for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and grill 2 to 3 more minutes. Transfer catfish to serving plate and spoon over 1 ounce warmed citrus sauce per fillet

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Catfish feeding frenzyOur intrepid taster roves far and wide to find the tastiest spots for catfish — and sides — in three counties, and shares his catchesBy GORDON DICKSON

Texans don’t need much of an excuse to chomp down on catfish.Residents of the Lone Star State eat more of the whiskered bottom-feeders than anyone else, according to the Catfish Institute. The group was founded by farmers in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi — the states where catfish is most commonly grown to satiate the appetites of people in Texas and across the South."It’s just a regional taste. I don’t know if I’d call it a delicacy, but people grew up with it and really enjoy it," said Larry Richardson, co-owner of the Flying Fish, a casual eatery with locations in west Fort Worth, Dallas, Little Rock, Ark. and other cities.August is National Catfish Month, according to the institute, which touts the health and economic benefits of catfish farming. So as far as I’m concerned, now is a great time to search the western side of the Metroplex for the best examples of catfish cuisine.Like many restaurateurs who offer catfish on the menu, the people at the Flying Fish don’t take themselves too seriously. They have a standing offer of a free three-fillet catfish basket to customers who donate a singing fish to the eatery’s official Billy Bass Adoption Center.I didn’t have a Billy Bass to contribute to the wall, so instead I plunked down what I thought was a reasonable $7 to scarf down a small helping of the flaky white fish, dipped in cornmeal and deep-fried.During the past several weeks, I went on a catfish feeding frenzy, sampling the fare at numerous restaurants.My 14-year-old daughter came along for some of the tastings, even though she normally doesn’t eat fish or anything else that swims. She has an aversion to seafood because of an emotionally scarring experience during her elementary school years, when she tried unsuccessfully to raise betta fish as pets. It turned out that keeping bettas alive for more than two weeks at a time required more expertise than our family could offer, and the aquarium has since been retired to the attic.(Note to other parents: If your young daughter shows an interest in pet fish, do yourself a favor and get her a puppy!)Anyway, with my wife, daughter and 7-year-old son in tow, I hit a handful of the very best catfish places in Tarrant, Johnson and Wise counties — places with catchy names such as Catfish O’harlie’s, Tucker’s Catfish Haven and even Babe’s Chicken Dinner House.But our first stop was the most memorable. It was at a legendary place in Arlington called Catfish Sam’s. There, my daughter reluctantly agreed to eat a half-order of catfish, and she was surprised by the clean taste."It was crunchy, and it didn’t smell like fish. It’s fresh," she admitted, before turning her attention to the home-style fries. My son agreed, saying he’d like to be locked in the restaurant overnight so he could make room in his stomach to eat everything.Our experience was an example of the universal appeal of catfish, the experts say. The flavor is so mild and slightly sweet that in most cases the diner detects only a hint of pungency from the pond water in which the creature was raised. Officially certified U.S. farm-raised catfish are fed nothing but nutrient-rich grain pellets for 18-24 months until they’re big enough to harvest, creating a consistently pleasing taste that can be found at discerning restaurants across the U.S.Eating foreign-grown or wild catfish can be a real hit-or-miss experience, despite what you may hear from Southerners who claim to have caught and eaten perfectly good catfish from the neighborhood canal all their lives. A word of warning to the less adventurous among us: If you’re fishing from a creek with an old bicycle lodged in its muddy bottom, well, it’s safe to assume your bounty won’t taste the same as the stuff from a certified freshwater farm.And when paying good money for your food, if a restaurant host or manager can’t tell you where the catfish was raised, walk out the door before ordering.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Delta Residents Express Frustration With Entergy’s Repair PoliciesPat Maglothlin said that one Entergy outage cost him $100,000.By Sheila Prescott"Forty years ago we put a man on the moon, and if we can put a man on the moon we ought to be able to figure out why Parkdale and Wilmot keeps losing power every time it thunders," Senator Jimmy Jeffress told representatives of Entergy and interested citizens during a meeting in Parkdale last week."These people pay the same rates as they pay every where else in the state of Arkansas and they ought to be able to depend on their power. If Entergy can't figure out what the problem is then I think they ought to say so and we'll see if we can't find somebody else who could," the state senator said.The purpose of the meeting, held in the conference room at Bayou Grain in Parkdale, was to voice concerns about two recent storm outages and other issues, including the time that repairs required. Entergy customers and concerned citizens discussed outages that affected Wilmot and Parkdale on June 30, July 1 and July 16 and other issues to Entergy representatives on Tuesday, Aug. 4. In addition to the storm outages, those present complained about Entergy's automated outage reporting system, blinking lights and policies."Our number one priority for our employees; as well as our customers and the environment is safety," Diane Tatum, Regional Customer Service Manager with Entergy, said to a standing room only crowd. "We will not compromise that, and we do not take shortcuts."Tatum explained Entergy's procedure during an outage and summarized the two recent storms. The first storm, she said was on June 30 with outages continuing in to July 1. Those outages, she said, were widespread and affected Wilmot, Parkdale, Lake Village, Dermott, McGehee and Dumas. Crews were called in from Crossett, El Dorado and Warren to assist in restoration, said Tatum, who added that travel time and obtaining equipment from other areas further delayed restoration time. Tatum said electricity was fully restored 15 hours and 45 minutes following the first outage report. The second storm, Tatum said occurred on July 16 and resulted in a power failure lasting several hours.Although Tatum stated that Entergy reflected 491 customers without power during one of the storms, Ron Moore, General Manager of Ashley-Chicot Electric Cooperative, said one of the outages was a breaker that provides electricity to 400 Ashley-Chicot Electric customers. "You didn't have 491, you had 891," said Moore.Diane Tatum, Entergy Regional Customer Service Manager for South Arkansas, comments to customers and concerned citizens during a public meeting held at Bayou Grain in Parkdale on Tuesday, Aug. 4.Entergy has policies in place to restore power after a storm, according to Tatum. The first step, she said, is to send out scouts to assess damage to equipment and facilities to determine corrective actions. Large transmission lines are restored followed by substations that transport power to local areas. The next step, she said is to restore electricity to emergency services, life support facilities and communications networks and then to feeder lines that serve large numbers of customers and neighborhoods. The final restoration is individual service."This is one of the rules we operate in with respect to maintenance and responding to outage, ‘The customer experiencing a service outage that does not result in an emergency, the electric utility should make every reasonable effort to restore service not later than 24 hours after the outage is reported'," she said.In regards to first outage, County Judge Emory Austin stated that he called and spoke to a "Jeremy" with Entergy and was told that downed power lines and poles had created the outages in the two cities. However, Austin said he was in the Delta when he placed the call after he failed to see an obvious cause. "Where were the poles broke and where was the downed wire?" asked Austin. "They weren't."John Montgomery, Entergy Area Line Supervisor for Lake Village-McGehee, said that there were wire and poles down in the Dermott area. The person Austin spoke with, he said, may not have been aware of the distance between the two areas and repeated the last information he was given.Montgomery further explained that before power could be restored, someone had to ride out the line and find the cause of the outage. In addition, he said, power failed in Dermott and Lake Village before it went out in Wilmot and Parkdale. "The point is the crews were already out working," he said.John Montgomery, Entergy Area Line Supervisor for Lake Village/McGehee, shown right, explains the procedure of power restoration to Wilmot Mayor Archie Walker, shown left. Shown center is Audie Foret, Entergy Regional Operations Manager for South Arkansas.Ron Miller with Bayou Grain stated those affected by the storm were misinformed as to when power would be restored. Miller said a number of businesses decided not to open based on Entergy's two day predicted outage time."We had already figured out that the only thing wrong in Parkdale, Ark., a tree or something was down and that was the only thing wrong in the whole world. We were sitting here making decisions," he said. "It is a communication problem and you need to evaluate how you are handling the structure of your people."Montgomery said the estimated time was the predicted time it would take to restore power to the entire system. Damage to Dermott was substantial, he added."It was estimated that it would take two days to get Dermott back on, but they actually got them back on in one day, thank God, but that is where the estimate came from," said Montgomery.In the district which begins at Grady and extends to the Louisiana line, Montgomery said there are five service men and 17,000 customers.Doris Hammond noted that there are a lot of elderly in the Wilmot and Parkdale area and that it is difficult to report an outage through Entergy's system when electricity fails in the middle of the night."When we call it at night, this has always been a pet peeve of mine. I have a flashlight and I have learned to keep my account number there. Otherwise, I don't get to talk to anyone," said Hammond. "It helps a person when you're sitting up there sweating at 3 o'clock in the morning to hear a voice say, ‘I am so sorry,' and I worked with call centers so I know what I am talking about, but it so much more helpful instead of that repetitive thing, ‘Please, give your account number'."Jackson Currie said he hates calling the Entergy 800 number and said he would prefer to speak to someone who knows the area and the cause of the outage instead of someone who is unfamiliar with the area."I know I should expect power to go out in some storms. It's not a problem for me that it takes time to fix, and certainly I would never want anyone to be harmed. Here's my problem, it goes out every storm. Here's why I don't think it's right because my friends from Little Rock tell me, ‘It never goes out up here'," said Currie, adding that maybe it is an exaggeration, but, "Meanwhile it goes out down here every time we have a storm and sometimes when we don't have a storm."In response to Currie's comment Wayne Branton, a fish farmer in Wilmot, said, "I think Entergy would be well served if it would look at Ashley-Chicot [Electric Cooperative]'s system. We have a catfish farm, and I can guarantee you if at 3 o'clock in the morning if we called, we have the service men's cell phone numbers, and within two hours they are going to be on our farm," said Branton. "If it's an Entergy problem, we've got a big problem, but they can fix their problem. So you might be well served in looking at Ashley-Chicot. Look at their system, their emergency system and see how they can assist. They're a lot smaller than you all are, and we can pick up the phone and call the people and not 800 numbers, and that's one of the problems. I take my hat off to Ashley-Chicot, and maybe you ought to look at their system and their policies to see how they do it cause they do a heck of a good job."Montgomery stated that Entergy has top notch equipment to provide service to its customers and does not know why Ashley-Chicot Electric Cooperative does not have similar issues. "I just don't know, Jerry [Moore, Ashley Chicot’s Operations Superintendent] and they may have a magic wand over there on Ashley-Chicot. I think they've just been 'explicit' lucky," he added.In other service related issues, Miller said once after Montgomery finished a job at Bayou Grain and left, a transformer blew. Miller said he called Montgomery and was told to call the service center. However, he said, before he could hang up the phone reporting the problem, a construction driver passing by and watching someone load corn hit and snapped an electric pole. The line, he said posed a risk of landing on a metal building. When the service man arrived to change the transformer, Miller said he refused to repair or secure the downed power line stating that it was against Entergy's policy."Sometimes your system is skewed against safety because of the way you're trying to be more efficient," said Miller.Montgomery stated that a service man has a bucket truck and cannot change a pole without proper equipment, "and so what happened when the service man got here and saw a broke pole all he could do...,"However, before Montgomery completed his statement, Miller interrupted saying, "I disagree that he could have done nothing. One line down with the electricity useless, he could have pulled the other fuses or went back to the highway and pulled the fuses. It was an unsafe situation to have a broken pole over a bunch of metal bins. You should have killed me totally out at the highway and I think it's not him [the service man]. If you think I am fussing at him you're wrong. I think it's your system, not the [service] man," said Miller.Audie Foret, Regional Operations Manager for South Arkansas, agreed with Miller stating that Entergy provides storm and restoration training to its employees based on the concept to isolate, protect and govern public safety and health as its top priority."It's a culture change; folks are used to us rewarding them and patting them on the back for getting it done. The guy who used to break the rules and bend the rules was rewarded, he was promoted, and now we're sending that same man home because we're telling him we don't want him to get hurt," Foret said. "The situation that you're referring to should not have occurred. I'm not going to say that's definitely attributed to a culture change with the individual but I can tell you as management with Entergy it's not the system we have constructed."Foret said he will follow up on that situation with the individual involved in the incident at Bayou Grain and Chemical."We are going to have to get more information on that as far as with that individual and find out where the gaps are, but I will agree with you he should have isolated that and made sure your facility was safe for your fellows to be here. He shouldn't have left that with two phases hot," said Foret.Pat Maglothin, an Entergy customer in Boydell, said one outage cost him $100,000 in catfish, and that according to Entergy's records, his ponds have been out 19 times in the past two years. During the $100,000 loss outage, he said, one of Entergy's scouts drove by a thrown switch three times but did not stop to reset it."I finally went down and found your service personnel. He told me he could not reset that switch because he had a call that there was more people out in Lake Village," said Maglothin, adding that each of his wells cost $2,000 a month in electricity. "You all are serving 100 percent government entities," he added.Maglothin also complained about the difficulty he has had in obtaining information during an outage and making payments since the company closed the Lake Village facility. Entergy now utilizes the space as a warehouse. In response to Maglothin's complaint, Montgomery said, "Our intent is not to just serve warm bodies, we do have stipulations to get the lights, wells, irrigation accounts and all accounts are high priority. They don't come before hospitals, they don't come before police departments, fire departments, but do come before warm bodies. We know there is an investment by that customer, and we try or at least I try diligently if I know there is an irrigation account or a fish farm out. We give them high priority."Office of Emergency Management Officer Jim Skender stated that communication is crucial and suggested working with Entergy to implement changes in their communication system. Skender said he works closely with emergency agencies throughout the county and has contact information for Ashley-Chicot Electric Cooperative and offered his assistance to Entergy representatives. Skender also suggested that instead of customers providing their account numbers to report outages that Entergy consider adjusting its systems to allow customers to give their physical address instead. Skender said Friday that he met with Judge Austin Wednesday to further discuss possible solutions.As the meeting drew to a close, Foret stated that while not all suggestions were feasible that he planned to implement change to better serve customers in Wilmot and Parkdale and asked to return in six months to discuss those accomplishments.Jeffress agreed that holding a second meeting to review those changes was a good idea. The senator asked Judge Austin to mark his calendar for Feb. 4, 2010 as the date for the second meeting with Entergy representatives.A representative of the Arkansas Public Service Commission present at the meeting said he will be following progress and any corrective measures taken by Entergy